


Days of Old

by reclusiveq



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-30
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-21 09:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1545950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reclusiveq/pseuds/reclusiveq
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Companion piece to Days of our Youth: Bucky remembers a promise he made to Steve as a kid, and follows through.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Days of Old

Bucky slipped out through his window at the Stark Tower. Steve had gone for an early morning jog with Sam, letting Bucky sleep in - a rare treat since Bucky hardly slept at all these days. His excuse to Steve had been that he'd slept so long in cryostasis that he hardly needed it now, though the truth was that Bucky tended to have nightmares when he slept.

Steve had finally convinced him to take some sort of all-natural sleep supplement and Bucky had had the first good night's sleep that he'd had in a while. So it wasn't surprising that he slept through Steve's early morning routine of coming in to check on him and work out together.

But now that Bucky was awake, he needed to move himself. He stepped outside of his room and almost instantly Tony was in his face, asking questions about his arm. This was a common occurrence since he'd moved in to the Stark Tower with the others. Tony wanted so badly to look at Bucky's arm, but Steve usually chased him off. Today, though, Bucky was at his mercy.

Clint was actually making breakfast and carrying on a loud conversation with Nat across the common room. Bucky knew it wasn't a morning he could deal with this. He eyed the door to the elevator, then retreated back into his room and locked the door. 

They wouldn't let him go out. Not alone, anyway. He did understand. It hadn't been that long since he'd last been brainwashed by Hydra and he still had episodes where he would black out and attack the nearest person. This was purely caution on their part, and it was smart. Last time, he’d been lucky and had attacked Steve. Steve could control him and bring him back. If Bucky attacked a regular citizen, though… 

Still Bucky was tired of feeling trapped. This wasn't much better than having been stuck in cryo with Hydra. Only being let out when they had a mission for him to complete. Then they’d bring him back and stick him back into the freezer. If he gave them problems, they would stick him in the chair first. That chair… Bucky shivered. While he couldn’t remember the things he’d done to get placed into that chair, he did remember the pain. 

But this place… this tower… there was no punishment for failure here. There was no pain, no freezer. And yet it was still a prison to him, if a larger prison than he was accustomed to. And he needed to leave it, just once. He needed to see Steve privately.

This room was one of the few without any kind of surveillance. Steve had made sure of that. So it wasn't difficult to slip unnoticed out of the window. The trick was to get down from one of the top floors without drawing attention to himself. He would have to avoid the cameras, but this came naturally to him and soon he was on the ground, pulling on his cap and jogging off to the park.

At the park, he checked his pockets and nodded. He still had a bit of money. He just had to wait.

"...on your left." Bucky grinned. He could hear Steve's voice carried across the water, followed by a string of cursing. Bucky chuckled, then stepped into the path. Steve ran fast these days. It wouldn't be long.

Steve came to a stop, surprised. "Bucky." There was clearly worry in his voice.

Bucky smiled to reassure him. "I snuck out. Tony was getting into my personal space. Again. There's only one person allowed to do that."

Steve looked relieved. "What's up?"

"I wanted to take you to coffee. Without all the, uh, attachments." He gestured to Stark Tower. 

"A date? People might talk, Bucky," he said with a small smile. 

"I'm counting on it," Bucky said under his breath. "Is it okay," he asked louder.

"Yeah. Let me just tell Sam. Wait here, I'll be right back." Bucky nodded and sat back down on the bench, fingering the money in his pocket. He knew things were more expensive now, although as a Hydra assassin, he'd never had to pay for anything himself. But he thought the money he had should be enough.

It didn't take Steve long to come back. "Okay, where to?"

"Wherever has the best coffee."

"Tony thinks that's Starbucks, but I know a better place. Come on."

Bucky let Steve lead him. He didn't know much about what was actually good around here. Everyone had tried to give him suggestions, but they didn't know him like Steve did, and the others... well, they just told him what *they* liked best. Not what was actually good.

Steve took him to a small cafe and Bucky ordered them two black coffees. Cream and sugar for his, Steve chose all black. Pulling his money out, Bucky raised an eyebrow at the cost, but was glad to see he had just enough for the drinks.

They sat down in a corner so they could talk privately. "I had a dream last night," Bucky said. "Not... Not a nightmare. A good dream. It felt like a memory."

"What was it?"

"I dreamt that we had just started high school and went to a museum opening and I told you that there was something I realized and that I would tell you some day. Do you remember that?"

Steve thought. It had been a long time ago, but he finally nodded. "Yeah, there was a big crowd and you got all flustered and said it was the number of people."

"Well," Bucky swallowed. "I think I should probably tell you what I realized that night. It's important I tell you now because if something happens..."

"Nothing's going to happen, Bucky. But please tell me."

"Okay. I think I told you then. 'I like you' is what I said and you thought I meant as friends. But I didn't. Well, I did, but I also meant as more."

Steve blinked, but Bucky kept talking, not wanting to stop. "I didn't really know how to deal with it then, but I needed you. I always thought I stayed friends with you because you needed me, but I was an idiot and a coward who didn't want to ruin your life or our friendship. But I liked you then and... I still like you, Steve."

Steve smiled. "I liked you that way too, but you always seemed more interested in girls. And I had so much else going on in my life. But you were always there for me. You're wrong though. I did need you. Just not the way you thought I did. You were my best friend."

Bucky gave a relieved sigh. "There's still so much I don't remember, but I had to say that before I forgot it again."

"I guess that makes this our first date."

"Technically, I half considered the museum our first date, as much as I tried to consider it otherwise."

"Second date then."

Bucky laughed, one of the first genuine laughs he'd had since the war. "I understand that this sort of thing is more acceptable these days anyway."

"Oh yeah. Nat showed me a website called Tumblr once. You should see the support there. I think she had me pegged since we kissed."

"You kissed Natasha?" Bucky tried to quell the jealousy he felt.

"Relax, Buck. She kissed me. It was not planned. And don't act like you never kissed girls."

Bucky laughed and relaxed. "True."

"Want to go to the museum after this?"

Bucky shifted uncomfortably and blushed. "That was all the money I had."

"Don't worry. I'll cover it." He reached over and touched Bucky's right hand. "We'll just spend the day together doing whatever we want, just like we used to."

Grinning, Bucky nodded. 

 

They did everything they could, getting around on Steve's motorcycle. They visited Coney Island, and the museum, then a few other places before finally heading back to the tower. Bucky stopped Steve before they got there, though. "It's too loud there, usually. Can we go somewhere quiet?"

"Of course." Steve took them back to the park instead. With night about to fall, the park was fairly empty. There were a few benches occupied by the homeless, but otherwise, it was quiet. Bucky sat down with Steve on a seat next to the lake and took his hand.

"We used to sneak out here," Steve said quietly. Bucky couldn't remember it at all, but he knew Steve was telling the truth. "Our moms would get so mad because it was too far from home. My mom was so scared of me having an asthma attack. But we liked to skip rocks on the lake. I was terrible at it, but not you."

"I... had a good arm?" He looked at his hands. He could believe that his aim had always been good. He just couldn't remember it being used for anything other than killing.

"Yeah." Steve glanced over at him. "You were a good man then, Bucky. And nothing's changed."

"Everything has changed. But... I still care about you." Bucky met his eyes, then leaned in and kissed him. Steve was surprised, but closed his eyes and kissed him back.

Bucky wasn’t quite sure what happened next, but at some point, he had apparently pushed Steve back onto the bench and they were both breathing heavily. Had he blacked out again? Steve was grinning up at him, so it couldn’t have been bad.

“Did we just…” Bucky asked, a blush tingeing his cheeks. 

Steve gently touched his cheek. “You blacked out?”

Bucky nodded and pulled himself off of Steve. “At least I didn’t try to hurt anyone this time.”

Steve caught his arm and pulled him back into a hug. “It’s okay. That just means you’re getting better. And we have all the time we need. We should probably get back, though. Before the others get worried.”

“Okay, but don’t let me sleep so long tomorrow.”

“Promise.”


End file.
